IEM Rio Major profile: Ninjas in Pyjamas

With a new AWPer, new in-game leader, new language, and former shotcaller and X-factor player looking unleashed, Ninjas in Pyjamas hope to continue their honeymoon phase in Rio.

When you think of kings of old, Ninjas in Pyjamas is the first organization that comes to mind. The legendary Swedish brand has unrivaled legacy in CS:GO, holding a map-winning record of 87-0 from the first year following the game's release in 2012 and remaining competitive at the top level through countless iterations ever since they were dethroned. Though titles in the more recent years have come few and far between, NIP are an epitome of consistency, as the organization has held a spot within the top 15 of the HLTV ranking almost without fail since the ladder was formally added to the site seven years ago.

While the name's history is rich and vast, boasting an ESL One Cologne Major title from 2014 and five consecutive Major grand final appearances around that time, the same cannot be said for their current team composition. The core of the roster at present has only been to one Major together, PGL Major Antwerp this May, and only two players remain from the Stockholm Major version at the end of 2021. Nonetheless, you'd be remiss to call this version of Ninjas in Pyjamas inexperienced when looking at the members individually.

Fredrik "⁠REZ⁠" Sterner carries what little legacy remains of the NIP of old, having represented the organization since 2017, when it still featured the core of the legendary lineup that dominated the game in 2012-2013. Former shotcaller Hampus "⁠hampus⁠" Poser had been making his name in the lower echelons for four years before he got his first big break in a top Swedish team during the pandemic. For over three years Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin was the star of various fnatic rosters that famously struggled in Major qualifiers. Patrick "⁠es3tag⁠" Hansen could be considered NIP's most experienced player despite having attended only one Major back in Antwerp, coming from a background of HEROIC teams who competed just outside of the Valve-sponsored circuit in his early career. New captain Aleksi "⁠Aleksib⁠" Virolainen was a Major finalist in his debut at IEM Katowice 2019 with ENCE.

The five players, averaging over 24 years of age, are not new to playing against elite competition, but they have also not yet become true title contenders or made a mark at the Majors. Ninjas in Pyjamas has consistently produced teams better than the sum of its parts, but after expensive and aggressive transfers of late "good" is just not enough.

A Swedish core turned international

The current roster has emerged from a never-ending flux that dates back nearly a year and a half. First, it seemed impossible for Ninjas in Pyjamas to find the right fit for a rifler position, and then the sudden leave of Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz, who had been brought in with the clear goal of winning titles at the end of last year left a hole in the squad. The organization brought various academy players in and out of the main team at first, but over time it made a couple of key signings in an attempt to plug these holes. es3tag came in at the end of 2021, and in early 2022 Sweden's best player Brollan followed, with the ever-versatile Dane taking over the vacant sniper role after the latter move.

That iteration lasted for nearly six months — an unusually long time in Ninjas in Pyjamas' terms as of late, it must be said —, but despite the team consistently making it deep at tournaments the question marks around AWPing remained. es3tag was serviceable but far from the star sniper that the current meta mandates from a title-winning roster. The trophies weren't coming, so Ninjas in Pyjamas kept looking for ways to finally reach the ultimate goal they had set for themselves with the unfortunate blockbuster signing of device in early 2021.

In September, Ninjas in Pyjamas surprised everyone when they signed Aleksib, a man looking to prove his problem-filled G2 stint was just a bad fit and that he is the top in-game leader he was once believed to be in his ENCE times. With just this one addition came some serious changes. The team had been using Swedish as their main language until that point, only occasionally switching to English around the time they brought in es3tag, and the Finn's arrival meant that they would have to move to English permanently. In another move that came completely out of left field, AWPing duties fell to REZ in hopes that the inconsistent star rifler would find more stability in the new role, which he had never tried before.

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hampus: "Aleksib is a great IGL, I don't know why G2 didn't want him"

Has hampus been unleashed?

This also meant that hampus would no longer have the pressures of in-game leadership duties on his shoulders. The 23-year-old had been a star for Ninjas in Pyjamas in the past, but in more recent times became more of a high-risk, high-reward X-factor player rather than a consistent contributor, and one of the goals of the Aleksib addition other than to bring more structure was to free hampus of his shackles.

That has seemingly worked, almost to an astonishing degree. In the new Ninjas in Pyjamas debut at the IEM Road to Rio RMR, hampus played his best event statistically ever since he started competing for the organization at the tier-one level two and a half years ago. He led the way to securing Legends status at the Rio Major with a 1.36 rating and 0.88 KPR as the Nordic side beat Astralis, Bad News Eagles, and Cloud9 en route to a 3-0 record in the Swiss stage, the final scalp being particularly impressive as a top-six team at the time.

Question marks over REZ's proficiency with the AWP are still yet to be answered, as at times he still tended to prefer rifles during the tournament and less than 30% of his kills came with the big green, but at the very least the move hasn't had a negative effect on his fragging contribution so far. It's also too early to say much about the effect of Aleksib other than that he has taken a lot of the risk-taking responsibility on himself, making up the aggressive trio along with Brollan and hampus and helping the latter especially work with more space than he had before.

"I don't really have to take many gambles, I never go first, so I can know where they are when I come out," hampus said on the topic of his new role following Ninjas in Pyjamas' qualification for the Rio Major. "If I know where they are it's easy to just go kill, and of course sometimes I still go first when I need to. It just feels super nice, I don't have to think for everyone, I just have to think for myself and tell myself what to do, and it's been working good I would say."

"I think in my heart, I'm not really a full IGL, this is my role being in like a second caller, lurker, having a bit of freedom to do what I want, do some calls midround, things like this. I love to have this role I have now."

IEM Rio Major expectations

The sole fact that Ninjas in Pyjamas looked convincing in their RMR campaign despite changing several fundamental aspects of their game and the language of communication at the same time is beyond impressive. At the very least it proved that they have quite a high ceiling if everything goes well and that they can beat some of the bigger dogs such as Cloud9, which is why they earned a spot right behind the five main contenders for a title in Rio.

But is this just a honeymoon phase and are we being misled by just five maps the Aleksib-bolstered Ninjas in Pyjamas played against Major-level opposition? This is an inherently difficult question to answer, and quite frankly we won't be able to until we see more. They've only played together for a month and a half, after all, and they have yet to face the kind of pressure a Major puts on a team as new as this.

Given how much has changed for them and the little playtime they've had with the new structure, it would be foolish to think that there are no weaknesses to be exposed in Ninjas in Pyjamas' play by some of the better teams. We don't know how strong their map pool is, or how they'll be able to deal with the inevitable occasions where one of their three key individuals in Brollan, hampus, and REZ doesn't turn up, and if they have enough in their arsenal to fall back on in those cases.

It would be a stretch to expect NIP to be a true contender for the title because of that, but they have consistently performed above expectations and proven to be capable of deep runs time and time again. Ninjas in Pyjamas could be an upset machine and one that could help the organization reach Major playoffs for the third consecutive time, but not one powerful enough to go all the way and challenge the likes of top contenders FaZe and Natus Vincere, or Liquid and Vitality, who all have shown higher peaks and have more playtime behind them. Cautious optimism is advised.

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